Rose Quartz
Rose Quartz is the founder and former leader of the Crystal Gems. She was originally in Pink Diamond's court. Enthralled by the beauty of Earth, Rose leads her friends and allies in a rebellion against the Gem Homeworld around 5,500 years before the events of the series, successfully driving the invading Homeworld Gems off the planet and saving the lifeforms inhabiting it. Rose eventually develops a romantic relationship with a human, Greg Universe, before giving up her physical form to give birth to their son, Steven, who inherits her gemstone. Appearance Rose Quartz has very long, and curly pink hair styled in thick, tube-like ringlets. She also has defined lips with a pale pink color, thin black eyebrows, bright-peach skin, and a taller and heavier build than the other Crystal Gems, due to being a quartz. In "Story for Steven", she is shown to be similar in height to Garnet and stood at eight feet. In "Lion 3: Straight to Video", she is seen to have black eyes. Rose wears a strapless, floor-length, lilac and snow trimmed, tiered white and in some appearances a white and pink dress that has multiple layers which resemble the petals of a rose, and has a star-shaped cutout in the stomach area, specifically where her gemstone is located. She is also barefooted. Personality A natural leader, Rose Quartz is indicated to have had a caring and loving personality. According to Bismuth, Rose is an atypical kind of Gem; rather than living in accordance to her gem caste's values, Rose chooses to be different and encourages other Gems to be, too. Her doctrine is that Gems can take control of their own identities and that her race's limited display of individually is a conviction forced down upon them. In the same manner, Rose has shown displeasure towards the Gems' traditions and natures; in "Greg the Babysitter", she got somber when reflecting on Gems' static existences, and in "Story for Steven" she admits she never misses her home. This discontent sparks her interest in humans, who are always changing and redefining themselves. In "An Indirect Kiss", she is described as feeling great sorrow when her loved ones were hurt. Her capacity for empathy leads her to establish the Rebellion and the Crystal Gems, and extends even to her enemies; as documented in "Bismuth", Rose values her enemies' lives just as much as her allies'. She is also said to see beauty in everything "no matter how gross", showing that she treats everyone as equals. In "The Return", it is revealed by Jasper that Rose Quartz is a masterful tactician, a crucial skill that earned her renown. Despite her role, in "Story for Steven", she is seen to have (at least to the knowledge of the Crystal Gems and Greg) a personality greatly resembling that of her son. Rose shows some ambivalence toward her role in the war; when Greg says he knew little about her, she describes this as "a good thing." She is described by Pearl and Greg as someone who "always did what she wanted". Rose does not fully comprehend the depths of human love in the early stages of her relationship with Greg, seeing that she is very confused when Greg tries to explain the concept of genuine affection. This leads Pearl to initially believe that there is not much between Greg and Rose, confronting him with the idea that their "love" is only a phase, and that Greg's novelty will soon wear off. Seeing Rainbow Quartz gives Greg the idea to fuse with Rose, which he hopes would help them understand each other. When Greg's fusion attempt fails, Rose starts laughing at the thought in a way that he considers to be emotionally distant. When asked to talk like a real person, Rose is quick to admit that her sense of love was a façade, and she has no idea how human love works. Greg and Rose begin to talk, deepening their relationship. After their talk, it can be assumed that she has learned from Greg how to be more 'human', in a sense. As revealed in "Greg the Babysitter" Rose had not just a misunderstanding of human love, but a misunderstanding of humans in general, going so far to think babies and adults are separate species all together. Upon learning the facts about this, she became fascinated with the fact that humans grow, change, and chose what they become, whereas Gems are pre-destined to be whom they are. It could also be seen that she treats babies and adults the same motherly way, ironic given that she originally believed them to be separate species. There is another unexplored side of Rose's personality - the legends surrounding her paint her as a ruthlessly efficient warrior and leader of the Crystal Gems who not only commands her fellow Gems in the rebellion but also participates in the fighting and who shattered Pink Diamond. This side of her personality seems at odds with the all-loving, motherly side of her; reflecting perhaps how the beauty of Earth and its lifeforms greatly affected the stern Gem warrior. It is worth noting that it is her compassion that leads to her to rebel to protect others, so this behavior is not entirely out of the realm of possibility. In "The Answer", Rose is shown fighting alongside Pearl. She cracks a cocky smile before destroying a Ruby fusion. This would suggest an aggressive side to Rose's personality, which makes sense in light of her Gem type, a quartz. As implied in "Bismuth" however, Rose's nature as a warrior during the war was tempted by a strong sense of righteousness, as she refuses to go to the extent of needlessly killing Gems to win the war against the Gem Homeworld, proving her love for life was stronger than her warrior instincts. Bismuth highlights both her compassionate nature and her capacity for deception in the form of Bismuth. Rose poofs and bubbles Bismuth and does not tell Pearl and Garnet the truth about what happened to her but did it due to Bismuth's development of the Breaking Point and her intentions to use the weapon mercilessly against their enemies during the war. Relationships Greg Universe Greg Universe is the romantic partner of Rose Quartz until she brings Steven into the world. Greg and Rose seem to have a very good relationship, but most of what we know is from Greg's point of view. The two of them meet at one of his one-man band concerts in Beach City, where she is the lone attendee. He says that they became inseparable, yet he had no idea "what a magical lady like her ever saw in a plain old dope like him." Rose uses Greg's catchphrase as the activation words for her Light Cannon, reflecting her feelings towards him. Rose's relationship with Greg starts out rocky because Rose does not really understand how human relationships work, but things got better over time, and they end up "fusing" into an entirely new being, Steven. Steven Universe Steven is Rose's son, whom she gave up her physical form for. While she never got to meet her son, Rose cherishes Steven even before his birth, showing nothing but pride and happiness for the kind of person he will become, and trusts him to carry on her mission of protecting the Earth after her passing. Even when she knows it would mean the end of her existence to create Steven, she shows no fear and could not wait for him to join them. She also assures Steven in a video she left behind that when he loves being himself, it is really Rose loving Steven and loving being a part of him. According to Garnet, Steven is a "fusion of love" Crystal Gems Rose Quartz is the previous the leader of the Crystal Gems before she brought Steven into existence. The group seems to hold her in high esteem. In the episode "Laser Light Cannon" for instance, Amethyst is quoted as saying, "If Rose were here, this would be so easy!" The members of the group seem to mourn her disappearance from the world after she gives up her physical form to create Steven, though they do not hold Steven accountable for the loss. In an in-character interview with Newsarama, Pearl seems to confirm that Rose Quartz was a leader of the Crystal Gems, noting, "Brilliant leaders do brilliant things, that is why you look to them for answers, answers no one else could have, that is why you trust them, even when you can not understand why they chose… Greg". Pearl Pearl is Rose's second-in-command and confidant in the war against Homeworld. Matt Burnett has described their relationship as "complicated".After the episode "We Need To Talk", it was confirmed that Pearl's feelings for Rose were of the romantic kind. Rebecca Sugar also stated that Rose requited those feelings. Nevertheless, Rose does care deeply for Pearl, and Pearl claims that she is closer to Rose than the other Gems are, and as such, Rose trusts her with information she does not tell Garnet and Amethyst. Pearl seems to value this connection highly, as she became very angry with realizing that there was information that Rose keeps even from her in "Rose's Scabbard". In "Sworn to the Sword", it is stated by Pearl that Rose makes her "feel like she was everything.". It is explained by Garnet that, during the war, Pearl is extremely protective of Rose to the point of ignoring all logic and reason, and is willing to repeatedly risk her own life to ensure Rose's safety.It is implied that this recklessness sparked heated arguments between the two of them. Bismuth Bismuth is a Crystal Gem and one of Rose's friends. However Rose does not accept Bismuth's idea and bubbles her away after a argument and a fight over the use of the Breaking Point. Pink Diamond Not much is known about the relationship between Rose and Pink Diamond, other than that Rose used to be one of Pink Diamond's subordinates before betraying her. In "Back to the Moon", it is revealed that Rose Quartz had shattered her sometime during the Rebellion. Lion It was shown in the episode "Lion 3: Straight to Video" that Lion has some deep connection to Rose. Lion has belongings of Rose stored inside his mane such as a VHS tape from Rose, a Mr. Universe T-shirt, Rose's Battle Flag, sword, and an unknown object in a bubble (a bubbled Bismuth). This connection was further explored in "Rose's Scabbard". Though his connection to Rose is obvious, why he is connected remains shrouded in mystery Abilities Rose possesses standard Gem abilities, including shape-shifting, weapon-summoning, fusion, bubbling, regeneration, and superhuman strength/durability. As a Quartz Gem, she is created to be a warrior, albeit one with abilities that focused on defense. Noticeably, she is able to effortlessly defeat a fusion of three Rubies in an instant. She is proficient in both combat as well as military command and strategy, being able to lead the Crystal Gems from the front-lines in a successful rebellion against their Homeworld. Fusions * When fused with Pearl, they form Rainbow Quartz. * When fused with Amethyst, they form Smoky Quartz. Unique Abilities The original bearer of the rose quartz gemstone, which is currently in possession of her son/successor, Rose Quartz would have been able to use all the abilities Steven has - and perhaps even more. * Healing: Rose manifests her ability to heal through her tears. Her tears could heal broken Gems/gemstones, and heal other creatures of general injuries. In "Bubbled", Eyeball mentions that during the Rebellion, Rose used her healing power to keep her Crystal Gem soldiers in contention with Homeworld's superior forces. * Phytokinesis: Rose has the ability to grow sentient flora that act as her guardians. * Shield Proficiency: Rose has the ability to summon her shield. * Electrical Interference: In "We Need to Talk", Rose appears to be able to control Greg's radio based upon her emotion. For instance, when she is shocked, the music stopped. However, like her son, it is unknown if she possesses it or if this was for dramatic effect. Also, in "Maximum Capacity", the television that Greg and Amethyst are watching Lil' Butler on went to static when Steven sees Amethyst shapeshift into Rose herself. * Speed of Descent Regulation: In "Steven Floats", it is revealed that Rose is able to control the speed of her ascent and descent. She is briefly seen using this power in "Story for Steven". She also uses it several times in "Greg the Babysitter". * Enhanced Strength: '''Being a quartz, Rose has strength fit for a soldier. In "Greg the Babysitter", she destroys the control panel to a ferris wheel with a single punch. She is then able to stop the malfunctioning ferris wheel, and rip off one of the seats with her bare hands. Weaponry * '''Rose's Sword: Rose possesses a great sword that she has used during battle and is currently wielded by Connie Maheswaran as of "Nightmare Hospital". As stated in "Bismuth", the sword was designed by Bismuth for a fair fight, to cut through a gem's physical form, destroying the body but never the gem. Bismuth calls it her "finest piece of work." It also has its own scabbard. * Laser Light Cannon: Rose once owned a cannon that shot a very powerful beam that could destroy an object such as the Red Eye that the Crystal Gems could not destroy on their own. The weapon activates by reciting Greg Universe's favorite catchphrase, "If every porkchop were perfect, we would not have hotdogs." It is currently in the possession of the Gems after retrieving it from Greg's storage unit in the episode "Laser Light Cannon". * The Quartizine Trio is a trio of Laser Light Cannons which belonged to Rose Quartz that first appeared in "Lion 2: The Movie". Their history and connection with the original light cannon is unknown, although they're activated with the same phrase: "If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs." * Rose's Secret Armory: Rose has an armory full of weapons and armor that she keeps secret from the rest of the Crystal Gems, except Pearl. For unknown reasons, Lion knows about the armory and brings Steven and Connie there in "Lion 2: The Movie".